


a pocketful of mumbles

by wyomingnot



Series: 16 monks [4]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-28
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2019-07-18 15:25:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16121339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wyomingnot/pseuds/wyomingnot
Summary: Self-defense has always been a part of their fitness routine.





	a pocketful of mumbles

Self-defense has always been a part of their fitness routine. The harsh reality of many of the places they dock is that they're dangerous, for both Rae and Armitage. Rae doesn't want Armitage scared to go off the ship, but she needs him to be aware of what could happen, what he can do about it and how he can minimize the chances of anything happening.

At age five, he mainly works on different ways of wriggling free from a snatcher, along with small things he can do to injure - a well-executed head smash against an attacker's testicles, fingers or sand in the eyes, and so on. Rae makes sure he always wears his boots when outside, and often inside so that he's used to them. Which is how Rae comes to call them his stompy boots. And she teaches him how to effectively kick the shit out of a shin.

When he's seven, Rae starts him on some proper martial arts. He's occasionally joined her for her end-of-workout Space!Tai-Chi, even when he was small, but he takes it seriously now (because of course, five is just a baby, but now he's *seven*). He still practices the baby stuff, adjusted to his growing size, because practice makes perfect.

Armitage complains when Rae starts to teach him wrestling. That it's not fair because she's bigger than him. She gently reminds him that people rarely start fights with others bigger than themselves. That he's got a thin frame and might always be smaller in some way. He's grumpy but knows she's right. He turns out to be an excellent wrestler. Rae is not even a little surprised.

She has one physical training discipline that she keeps to herself. She was a more-than-competent boxer back in the fleet; she took great joy in beating the crap out of uppity lieutenants. But when she sets off with Armitage, she stows her punching bag in her quarters. She can't even use it in their first couple of years because it reminds her of Brendol's treatment of his son. And even as sport, she's never going to be able to strike Armitage with a fist.

At some point Armitage asks her to install a bag for him. They end up training side-by-side but never face each other in the ring.

**Author's Note:**

> for a prompt from tumblr user [phasma-first-order](http://phasma-first-order.tumblr.com/).   
> ***  
> please forgive my use of Space!whatever. If I ever clean this all up (and actually have a beta comb through it), I'll find better names. :)  
> ***  
> [posted on tumblr here](http://wyomingnot.tumblr.com/post/178540306275/phasma-first-order-graciously-prompted-what).  
> ***


End file.
